DEAR READERS: This Animal Doctor column covers some human health and well-being issues, especially those affecting children, because humans are animals, too. One important such topic is children's use of smartphones in schools.

The research is clear: Smartphones undermine attention, learning, relationships and belonging. Even if every school prohibits children's access to social media while at school, that will not significantly reduce the adverse impact to their brains; their social, emotional and cognitive development; and their learning ability. For more details, see Jon Haidt’s essay here: www.afterbabel.com/p/phone-free-schools.

Another issue of concern for today's children is “climate change anxiety” or “eco-anxiety,” which the American Psychological Association recognizes as a significant mental health concern in children. As they become aware of the effects of climate change, many kids feel fear, hopelessness and distress about the future of the planet. This may drive them to seek escape via social media -- which creates other issues, as noted above. To help relieve these feelings in young children, I recommend the book "Small Steps, Big Change" by Annemarie Cool, illustrated by James Jones. It is an uplifting picture book filled with simple tips for building a better world for the future. Every family should have a copy!

Another concern for pets and young people alike: The rates of obesity and weight-related diseases are rising in both pets and children in the U.S. This has many factors, including genetics, sedentarism, ultra-processed foods and, possibly, microplastics and various other food contaminants disrupting the gut microbiome. Healthful, whole-food diets and physical activity are the best preventives for everyone, human or not!

A GLIMMER OF HOPE FOR BATS -- AND A WARNING FOR US ALL

Researchers are studying the fungi and bacteria on the wings of bats in Lillooet, British Columbia, because bats in that region have shown no signs of infection from the devastating white-nose syndrome that has nearly wiped out other North American bat populations. The research may lead to a probiotic cocktail that helps bats resist the devastating disease. A previously developed probiotic mix has shown promise at test sites in Washington state and British Columbia. (Full story: Phys.org, Oct. 23)

Bats help us in many ways -- from consuming insects that can carry diseases and decimate crops, to fertilizing the forests. (They also fertilize the agave plants that give us tequila -- no bats, no tequila!) But bats are declining everywhere from loss of habitat, malnutrition (from insecticides eliminating their food sources) and immune system impairment from pesticides. The latter makes them susceptible to diseases, especially white-nose syndrome.

International conventions on protecting biodiversity will amount to nothing without prohibiting the use of agrichemical poisons. Every government should support farmers transitioning to ecologically sound, regenerative and sustainable organic farming practices. This would improve public health and reduce the high incidence of cancer and birth defects in the populace and protect aquatic and terrestrial wildlife.

DEAR DR. FOX: There is a lot of research being conducted now on the sentience of insects. I’ve done some reading and attended a few talks on the subject. While there is a wide spectrum of opinion on this, in my naive view, there is a difference between using black soldier fly larvae as a protein source and using crickets. I believe crickets are quite possibly sentient. -- P.S., San Francisco

DEAR P.S.: I appreciate your concern over whether insect farming, which is expanding worldwide, is humane. Humans have been eating wild insects as a sustainable source of various nutrients since we first evolved. As for our companion animals, many cats (and some dogs) will chase and eat bugs found in the home. I advise stopping them from going after spiders, since some are venomous; these should be caught and released outdoors.

Black soldier fly larvae provide nutritious fatty acids and proteins, and can be humanely killed, in my opinion, by lowering the temperature. They are a good nutrient supplement for humans and companion animals.

Adult crickets are obviously sentient -- try to catch one! -- and their primary nutrient value is chitin. An alternative source is chitin-rich dried, powdered mushrooms, which I have mentioned in a recent column.

For consumers who choose to consume farmed insects, whatever the insect larvae and adults are fed should be organically certified and tested for heavy metals and other contaminants.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR READERS: Salmon have been spotted in upstream tributaries of the Klamath River at the California-Oregon border just two months after hydroelectric dams were removed, allowing the river to follow its natural path once more.

“The fact that the fish are going up above the dams now, to the most prolific spawning and rearing habitat in North America, it definitely shines a very bright light on the future,” said Ron Reed, a member of the local Karuk tribe, to the Los Angeles Times. Biologists are keeping a close eye on the fish as they spawn. (Full story: L.A. Times, Oct. 24)

The construction of dams as an energy source was celebrated as techno-triumphalism -- funded by taxpayers and constructed, with the best intentions, under the direction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Now we bear witness to the devastating ecological consequences of arrogant eco-imperialism with the increasing unreliability of hydroelectric power. Prolonged droughts, atmospheric rivers bursting, and deforestation-exacerbated mudslides have cast doubt on dams as a “renewable” source of energy.

DEAR DR. FOX: I have a friend who is looking for help for his cat -- specifically, effective hyperthyroid medication and options for managing kidney disease, whether through food or medicine. Any advice? -- D.G., Minnetonka, Minnesota

DEAR D.G.: Get the cat on a wet food -- a special prescription diet for renal disease. The more the cat will drink, the better. Flavoring the water with chicken bouillon (low-salt or homemade) may help.

This cat's attending veterinarian can offer thyroid treatments, which can range from injecting radioactive iodine, prescribing methimazole or surgical removal of the cancerous gland, followed by thyroid hormone replacement. Survival times are probably longer following surgical removal. The cat’s blood pressure and body weight should be closely monitored. A few days’ treatment with gabapentin to help the cat feel less hyperstimulated may be advisable.

My post about helping dogs and cats with kidney disease is available here: drfoxonehealth.com/post/care-for-dogs-cats-with-chronic-kidney-disease.

Many cats suffer from hyperthyroidism, a multifactor disease in which high levels of fluoride in cat foods play a role. Also at fault are a host of endocrine-disrupting chemicals that our high-polluting industrial economy has released into the environment and our food chain, to the detriment of us all.

This is one of many companion animal diseases that make them the modern-day equivalent of canaries in the coal mines, warning us of an unsafe environment. It will be interesting to see what Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as secretary of Health and Human Services under the new Trump administration, will do about this.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR READERS: The United States has just voted into office a president who has called climate change “a big hoax.” Researchers and activists across the world have reacted with dismay and anger.

Donald Trump is expected to increase investment in fossil fuel extraction, and his campaign promised to once more withdraw the U.S. from the 2015 Paris climate agreement, which the country had rejoined during the Biden administration.

The day after Trump’s win, the price of bitcoin cryptocurrency soared. This cybereconomy, which consumes energy from nonrenewable resources for each transaction, is a significant contributor to climate change. The collective energy consumption of all crypto assets is higher than all the world’s data centers combined. Per JustEnergy.com, "Current estimates suggest bitcoin mining spews about 65 megatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year."

To ignore the harmful consequences to vulnerable communities, and to wildlife and biodiversity, is a dereliction of duty by all involved. There will be continuous lawsuits to protect public health and the environment from the abuses of unconscionable dominion. This will continue until every nation bases its economy on cyclical ecological principles, stops subsidizing unsustainable and polluting industries, and supports socially just fair trade. Corporate hegemony must be transformed by international convention into free trade alliances.

Otherwise, to quote from W.B. Yeats’ 1919 poem, "The Second Coming": “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.”

DEAR DR. FOX: I wrote to you recently when my dog Max passed away. Thank you for being a ready ear in my time of need. I am doing well, and while I miss Max’s physical presence, he is now a treasured part of my soul. I no longer look at the world in the same way.

I can tell that the animals you have shared your life with have touched your soul, as well. You previously shared a short poem you wrote -- have you written other poems about animals and pets? If so, can you share them?

One final request for advice: My granddaughter is coming to visit, and I’ll have to explain that Max is no longer here in terms a 4-year-old will understand. -- B.C.S., Nassau, Bahamas

DEAR B.C.S.: With young children, I have found sharing photos of times spent with the now-deceased animal helpful. Doing so may briefly intensify their grief, but ultimately provides a smoother and faster resolution by recalling a good life well spent and loved. For older children, whatever suffering may have preceded the animal's death can be explained.

As for discussing where their spirits go, that depends on one’s religious or metaphysical beliefs. But rest assured, since deceased animals often return to "visit" their beloved human companions, there is life after life. For documentation, see my books "Dog Body, Dog Mind" and "Cat Body, Cat Mind."

I am glad that you enjoyed my poem. I have written many over the years, some of which will be published in the near future as a book.

Here is an excerpt from my latest one, entitled "When I Write -- and Why."

"Words pour out of me / In an endless thread / A dreamtime stream / Giving me a life sentence / In love, sorrow, outrage. / I do not know and dread and vent / Numb beyond the endless flow / Of words entangled in despair / That so many never care or see / Or feel for wildness in a cage ... I will continue to compose / With word after word to oppose / Cruel indifference, political corruption / To make a difference with disruption / With my appeals to conscience / For justice, respect for sentience / Before I decompose, or go to seed / And become a tumbleweed."

This poem references, and was inspired by, William Blake’s “Auguries of Innocence” and Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night," along with Father Thomas Berry's quotation, "The universe is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects."

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)